I used to think I didn't have a type. When asked I couldn't really describe what type of person I was attracted to because I had no way to quantify it. For me that is the essence of attraction. You may know you like certain things such as blue eyes, brown hair, or whatever, but it takes a very specific combination of all those things for you to be attracted to it. So how do you know what it is you're really attracted to? Can it ever be broken down into individual characteristics or is it the combination of them all? I suppose it could be like a painting. The individual colors or brush strokes by themselves might be nice, but it must be done a certain way for you to really like it beyond just the sum of its parts.
What causes us to be attracted to someone or something? There must be a part of the brain that stores the information on what's appealing to us. And is that information hardwired into us in a way that we will always be attracted to that particular something? Sure we ourselves change and with that tastes change over time, but do those tastes change because of something physical in us or is something else at work? Some guys will always prefer young women to those of their own age. Those tastes have to come from somewhere. It could be that we were built to be attracted to something before we had a choice, which would indicate there was purpose or even a plan to how we're created.
Many people believe that homosexuality is something your born with. If that's true then the question would have to be "Why?" I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but if a person is truly born that way then was it just random or was their something at work that caused that to be true? Strictly speaking from a continuation of the species point of view, homosexuality is a dead end. People who are gay are not built with the desire to be with the opposite sex and that's pretty much required to continue any sort of bloodline. Now granted with today's technology it's not as big an issue. And maybe that's part of it. Maybe somehow our bodies know that it's no longer required that a man and woman be together to create a child. There are other options that can be used to pass along our genes to the next generation. I don't know if there has been a rise in homosexuality in the last hundred years or even last fifty. It's been reported that anywhere from 2% to 13% of the Western population are homosexual. I doubt very much that there is recorded data for anything farther back than the last century. Kinsey reported in 1953 that about 46% of men responded sexually to people of both genders, which would suggest that many people may feel the inclination at some point, but only a fraction act on it.
Of course the other side of the argument is that homosexuality is a choice. That instead of being born with an innate attraction to the same gender, you somehow decide to go that route. It really comes back to the whole Nature vs Nurture debate. My question is that if homosexuality is a choice then wouldn't that mean any type of attraction is based on choice? Can that be true though? Think about who/what you're attracted to. I suppose you can force yourself to become attracted to something, almost like an acquired taste. Still I don't know that I have much choice when it comes to my attraction to Salma Hayek. It's not as though I consciously decided that she was what I was going be attracted to. It was automatic. And again what is it about her that is the epitome of attractiveness to me? Was there something in my life that made me find dark hair and skin was more attractive than blond hair and fair skin? Or was it when I was born that I was already predetermined to be attracted to her?
Is there such a thing as someone who is universally attractive? Meaning that regardless of preference you would recognize them as being empirically attractive. Some people may find beauty in one thing where others only see ugliness. Scientists have discovered that the smell of death is universal so that all species recognize it. Now it depends on the species what they do with that information. Some will see it as a sign that there is potentially food near by. Others will take it as a warning. My point is that everyone everywhere knows about death's smell. If that's the case then can it be that everyone everywhere would recognize something attractive?
In the end I wonder if people really know where their attractions come from. By understanding where they come from one might grasp how to control them a little better. Maybe it's like art where you know what you like, even if you don't know why you like it.
